The Cave
by AndSheWasBeautiful
Summary: His eyes flicker as they walk through the caves, hands poised at his sides to draw Hyourinmaru in moments. His ears are alert, she can tell, from the way his head tilts slightly, and his footsteps are silent. He is a predator. Mild M/T


**The Cave.**

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><p><strong>.tiger, tiger, burning bright, in the forest of the night.<strong>

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><p>His eyes flicker as they walk through the caves, hands poised at his sides to draw Hyourinmaru in moments. His ears are alert, she can tell, from the way his head tilts slightly, and his footsteps are so silent, they don't even ring out in the echoing caves.<p>

She feels clumsy and anxious when beside him, even if she is a lieutenant – and the small group of shinigami that follow remind her of a herd of elephants.

A highly dangerous killer has escaped through the mountains in Soul Society – slashing his way through dozens of shinigami, making him a top priority.

Hitsugaya was selected to take care of the problem – along with a hand chosen group.

Rangiku was ill – struck down with a dangerous bout of pneumonia – and so, Hinamori Momo had been selected as his second-in-command for the day.

"Momo," he breathes, causing her to incline her head slightly to show she is listening. His words are low in his throat, and she must strain to hear. "Should this guy show himself, I will take care of him directly. You will only need to step in if he makes to attack one of the others. Otherwise, keep them protected, and stay out of it. This guy isn't playing around."

She nods, slightly annoyed that he won't let her defend him – but he is a Captain, and whether she likes it or not, she must follow his orders.

They walk further into darkness, and he is like a panther, eyes sharp and focused, ears acute to the sound of the slightest movement.

It is times like this, she is in awe of him.

Normally, he is just Shirou-chan, the silly little boy with pretty white hair who constantly has a chip on his shoulder. He is handsome, and grows more so with each passing day – but never does she feel the feeling in the pit of her stomach as she does now – one of immense respect.

He is one of the thirteen most skilled shinigami in Soul Society, and she so rarely sees this side of him, that she sometimes forgets. She is marvelling over him and not concentrating, when he spins around so suddenly, she almost stumbles.

In the next millisecond, he is behind her, his shunpo perfected to that of a Punishment Squad member, Hyourinmaru drawn and clashing against another sword, the caves suddenly dropping in temperature.

"Defend yourself," he hisses to her, brow furrowed in anger at her ignorance of the attack. Momo draws Tobiume, the zanpakuto itching in her fingers, and takes a breath, steeling herself, as she steps away. She glances around to see Toushirou standing, eyes trained on the cavern ceilings, The ground frozen beneath him. The other shinigami's breaths are little clouds of wispy smoke, and they are standing, swords drawn, eyes darting nervously around.

Suddenly, Toushirou is moving again, and Momo is aghast at how he can possibly see anything moving that fast, and then answer it with a faster move. She sees the criminal, standing directly behind him, knife raised to slash his back, and she panics as he swipes through the air calmly in the opposite direction.

It was only an after image, an imprint of the man that had stood there milliseconds before.

She watches in wonder for a moment more, before the satisfying squelch of metal piercing flesh rings through the cavern, and the rapid shunpo movements stop, Toushirou standing, his sword impaled through the criminal.

The caves are silent.

Then, the Captain slides his blade from the criminal's belly, and watches the body in a moment, pondering. Then, in one clean sweep, he slices the neck open, and nods, satisfied the criminal is truly dead.

Momo's eyes are wide.

She has never seen him kill before – never seen him switch off emotion in such a way, never seen him do what he needed to without question.

It makes her feel ill for a moment – he is only a teenager, and he slices throats as others slice apples in summer.

Then, the overwhelming sense of respect comes flooding back and she nods at him.

"Well done, Toushirou," she says in wonder, sheathing Tobiume once more. He snorts, and a grim smirk appears on his face. He goes to say something. And then he stops.

And then he says,

"That's Captain Hitsugaya, Hinamori."

And for once, she does not question his words.

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><p><strong>Because we don't see Toushirou being badass enough. *Nods* Hope you enjoyed! :D Reviews are pure love (:<strong>


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